Commentary: You get what you pay for

The cat fight between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and a construction consortium over who is responsible for excess costs associated with building a new set of locks to increase the waterway’s vessel capacity was predictable. Grupo Unidos por el Canal — led by Spanish construction firm Sacyr Vallehermoso, Italian engineering firm Salini Impregilo, Belgian dredging company Jan de Nul Group and Panamanian construction firm CUSA — won the $3.2 billion fixed-price contract in 2009 with a bid widely believed to have been considerably below that of its main competitors and below the $3.48 billion benchmark set by the canal administration. The ACP followed rigorous technical standards in its selection process, but it appea...